Greatest Warriors of Westeros

[ViperOfDorne]

Hey everyone,

First and foremost, I am so glad to have found a forum where I can discuss the s*** out of Game of Thrones because I think my friends are getting irritated with my non-stop rambling!

Anyhow, I wanted to discuss some of the greatest warriors of Westeros. Whether living or dead, there have been many highly skilled individuals who have dominated in the field.

The names the come directly to mind are the following, I am ranking them from 1 - 10.

1: Ser Arthur Dayne

2: Rhaegar Targarean

3: Baron Selmy

4: Red Viper of Dorne

5: Jamie Lannister

6: Robert Baratheon

7: Sandor Clegane

8: The Mountain

9: Ned Stark

10: Can't decide.

What do you guys think?

[Queen Elsa]

You've come to the right place. Welcome to us, I'm a newbie too :cheers: !

I don't know much about the greatest warriors but I can make a list of some of the best that I can think of. In no particular order:

Barristan Selmy - considered to be the greatest knight of the realm

Arthur Dayne - a skilled and legendary knight

Jaime Lannister - born a warrior and the youngest knight ever

Sandor Clegane - considered to be one of the most dangerous fighter in Westeros

Gregor Clegane - he is called The Mountain for some reason

Loras Tyrell - one of the first class knights according to GRRM, so he's on the list

Garlan Tyrell - an exceptionally skilled swordman trained to fight against three or four swordsmen

Robert Baratheon - a renowned warrior

Ser Bronn - don't messed up with this sellsword and don't underestimate his ability, I'm telling yah!

Brienne of Tarth - a woman but a better warrior compared to some men

[Meddler]

Welcome! Sounds like a good poll question. Including living, dead (going back to Robert's Rebellion at least), and some Essos natives and current residents, here are a few more:

Brandon Stark (considered a better swordsman than Ned was)

Thoros of Myr

Jorah Mormont

Greatjon Umber

Bronze Yohn Royce

Brynden "Blackfish" Tully

Strong Belwas

Khal Drogo

Gerold Hightower

Hosteen Frey

Balon Swann

Red Ronnet Connington

If we limit it to current residents of Westeros and we're betting on the outcome of a melee right at the beginning of AGoT, for example, my top 10 would probably be.

1. Brienne

2. Sandor

3. Jaime

4. Barristan

5. Gregor

6. Oberyn

7. Greatjon

8. Loras

9. Areo Hotah

10. Bronze Yohn

If we go back to the beginning of the rebellion, it'd be quite different. Something like

1. Arthur Dayne

2. Barristan

3. Jaime

4. Robert

5. Rhaegar

6. Gregor

7. Oberyn

8. Gerold Hightower

9. Brandon Stark

10. Thoros

Note how badass Aerys' Kingsguard was! Sandor was quite young at this point and probably wouldn't yet be any match for these guys, and we don't know how old Brienne is but she may have been too young as well at this point. These two are in their primes though during the events of AGoT, though, and they're physically impressive and very well trained, so they're my top two there. Jaime was more at his peak in between these two periods, and may have declined slightly leading up to AGoT, while Barristan definitely lost a step but was still a great fighter. Thoros was a very good fighter early on, but he let himself go after the Greyjoy rebellion, while Bronze Yohn and the Greatjon seem like they may have actually become better fighters as they aged.

Edit for a couple more AFfC stars I left off: Areo Hotah and the Darkstar.

[Lost Umber]

Hey everyone,

First and foremost, I am so glad to have found a forum where I can discuss the s*** out of Game of Thrones because I think my friends are getting irritated with my non-stop rambling!

Anyhow, I wanted to discuss some of the greatest warriors of Westeros. Whether living or dead, there have been many highly skilled individuals who have dominated in the field.

The names the come directly to mind are the following, I am ranking them from 1 - 10.

1: Ser Arthur Dayne

2: Rhaegar Targarean

3: Baron Selmy

4: Red Viper of Dorne

5: Jamie Lannister

6: Robert Baratheon

7: Sandor Clegane

8: The Mountain

9: Ned Stark

10: Can't decide.

"Baron" Selmy...? I guess you mean Barristan

I don’t know how the Ned makes these kinds of lists. GRRM spaked that he was only ‘capable’ or adequate or something, and that Brandon was the swordsman of the Starks. We never hear of him being a badass warrior other than falling off his horse or being saved by a little crannogman.

Also Robert Baratheon has to be ranked ahead of Rheagar.

[Daniel Snow]

No 1. Balearion the black dread

[Ser Ted Snark]

For me it's Robert Baratheon.

He wasn't the best knight, the most skilled, the smartest or the biggest.

But he was the greatest warrior.

[ViperOfDorne]

Sorry, you're right it was supposed to be Barristan Selmy.

As for Rhaegar being ahead of Robert, he is one of my favourite characters and as such I put him ahead of the man that killed him.

[Queen Elsa]

No 1. Balearion the black dread

Don't cheat! :laugh:

[BlackDragon]

The best all time would have to be Daemon Blackfyre as it was stated he fought like the warrior himself as for people now from the rebellion to now.

1)Rhaegar

2)Arthur Dayne

3)Barriston the bold

4)Jaime Lannister

5)Brandon Stark

6)Thoros of Myr

7)Holland Reed

8)Oswell Whent

9)Gerold Hightower

10)Ned Stark

[The joyful man]

I'm not sure about order but the members of Aerys Targaryan's kingsguard were supposed to be the best of the best. Aemon the Dragonknight, the Clegane brothers, Oberyn Martell and Ser Duncan the Tall as well.

[Daniel Snow]

Don't cheat! :laugh:

:crying: But.... but... why cant i have nice things :bang:

[TheNorthernWarrior]

Didn't Robert Baratheon beat Rhaegar in a 1 to 1 fair fight to win the Battle of the Trident? So i can't understand how Robert can then be ranked below Rhaegar.

[RottenAppleFossoway]

No mention of Victarion Greyjoy anywhere?

[Daniel Snow]

No mention of Victarion Greyjoy anywhere?

He's an excellent pirate/captain and is skilled in battle, but he is far from the best.

he nearly dies after the first battle we see him in

[Tyrus Martell]

It's hard to rank the warriors into a definitive list, but I'd say the list would favour several Essos warriors and self-trained sellswords. The books consistent show the Eastern warriors as extremely competent in battle compared to the Westerosi on account of less reliance on heavy armour and more on agility and grace. Look at how close Jorah Mormont was to being killed by Qotho in AGoT; he only survived by luck and his steel plate rather than pure skill.

1. Barristan Selmy - one of the greatest knight Westeros has ever seen, and he's 61.

2. Khal Drogo - For leading a Khalasar tens of thousand strong through of his unmistakable killing skill.

3. Syrio Forel - He took down five guards and held his own against a fully-armoured Meryn Trant with a wooden sword..

4. Robert Baratheon - For killing Rhaegar and owning King Aery II's army (and the Greyjoys ten years later).

5. Sandor "The Hound" Clegane - Strong, but more agile and smarter on the field than his brother.

6. Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane - Self-explanatory. Brute strength and surviving the Riverlands campaign.

7. Eddard "Ned" Stark - For his widely publicised combat role in Robert's Rebellion

8. Oberyn "Red Viper" Martell - For nearly defeating The Mountain, though his use of poison was cheap.

9. Strong Belwas - For killing the Hero of Meereen in single-combat and surviving the fighting pits.

10. Areo Hotah - For the effortless way he killed Ser Arys Oakheart of the Kingsguard.

I'd put Bronn on #11.

I discounted warriors we haven't actually seen in the books and/or are not alive, such as Arthur Dayne, because we don't know if the memories of Barristan, Jamie and Ned are completely accurate and more in awe of the legend (and his sword, Dawn) than what the man was actually like.

However, characters like Robert and Ned we know are competent fighters as Robert killed Rhaegar and Ned took on three kingsguard (with the help of Howland Reed) and survived.

[Ifightbadguys]

People think to much of Ned. Yea he was a great Knight but to rank him in the top 10 knights on the last 20years? Same with Bronn, yea he is a solid fighter and way above average for a sell sword but come on ....

1) Arthur Dayne

2) Rhaegar (hard to tell)

3) Barriston the bold (in his day)

4) Jaime Lannister

5) The Red Viper (he would have beat the hound if he wasnt such an idiot)

[Dervisss]

People think to much of Ned. Yea he was a great Knight but to rank him in the top 10 knights on the last 20years? Same with Bronn, yea he is a solid fighter and way above average for a sell sword but come on ....

1) Arthur Dayne

2) Rhaegar (hard to tell)

3) Barriston the bold (in his day)

4) Jaime Lannister

5) The Red Viper (he would have beat the hound if he wasnt such an idiot)

Wait .. did O.MArtell fight vs the hound, and was Ned a Knight?

And Rheagar was a better fighter than Robert? :drunk:

[Dervisss]

It's hard to rank the warriors into a definitive list, but I'd say the list would favour several Essos warriors and self-trained sellswords. The books consistent show the Eastern warriors as extremely competent in battle compared to the Westerosi on account of less reliance on heavy armour and more on agility and grace. Look at how close Jorah Mormont was to being killed by Qotho in AGoT; he only survived by luck and his steel plate rather than pure skill.

1. Barristan Selmy - one of the greatest knight Westeros has ever seen, and he's 61.

2. Khal Drogo - For leading a Khalasar tens of thousand strong through of his unmistakable killing skill.

3. Syrio Forel - He took down five guards and held his own against a fully-armoured Meryn Trant with a wooden sword..

4. Robert Baratheon - For killing Rhaegar and owning King Aery II's army (and the Greyjoys ten years later).

5. Sandor "The Hound" Clegane - Strong, but more agile and smarter on the field than his brother.

6. Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane - Self-explanatory. Brute strength and surviving the Riverlands campaign.

7. Eddard "Ned" Stark - For his widely publicised combat role in Robert's Rebellion

8. Oberyn "Red Viper" Martell - For nearly defeating The Mountain, though his use of poison was cheap.

9. Strong Belwas - For killing the Hero of Meereen in single-combat and surviving the fighting pits.

10. Areo Hotah - For the effortless way he killed Ser Arys Oakheart of the Kingsguard.

I'd put Bronn on #11.

I discounted warriors we haven't actually seen in the books and/or are not alive, such as Arthur Dayne, because we don't know if the memories of Barristan, Jamie and Ned are completely accurate and more in awe of the legend (and his sword, Dawn) than what the man was actually like.

However, characters like Robert and Ned we know are competent fighters as Robert killed Rhaegar and Ned took on three kingsguard (with the help of Howland Reed) and survived.

Don't forget that Ned was fighting a 7vs3 battle and only he and Reed survived .

[CerseisPimp]

Before he lost his hand, Jamie Lannister was the best period. Jaime's story is all about regaining his honor.

[Meddler]

It's hard to rank the warriors into a definitive list, but I'd say the list would favour several Essos warriors and self-trained sellswords. The books consistent show the Eastern warriors as extremely competent in battle compared to the Westerosi on account of less reliance on heavy armour and more on agility and grace. Look at how close Jorah Mormont was to being killed by Qotho in AGoT; he only survived by luck and his steel plate rather than pure skill.

1. Barristan Selmy - one of the greatest knight Westeros has ever seen, and he's 61.

2. Khal Drogo - For leading a Khalasar tens of thousand strong through of his unmistakable killing skill.

3. Syrio Forel - He took down five guards and held his own against a fully-armoured Meryn Trant with a wooden sword..

4. Robert Baratheon - For killing Rhaegar and owning King Aery II's army (and the Greyjoys ten years later).

5. Sandor "The Hound" Clegane - Strong, but more agile and smarter on the field than his brother.

6. Gregor "The Mountain" Clegane - Self-explanatory. Brute strength and surviving the Riverlands campaign.

7. Eddard "Ned" Stark - For his widely publicised combat role in Robert's Rebellion

8. Oberyn "Red Viper" Martell - For nearly defeating The Mountain, though his use of poison was cheap.

9. Strong Belwas - For killing the Hero of Meereen in single-combat and surviving the fighting pits.

10. Areo Hotah - For the effortless way he killed Ser Arys Oakheart of the Kingsguard.

I'd put Bronn on #11.

I discounted warriors we haven't actually seen in the books and/or are not alive, such as Arthur Dayne, because we don't know if the memories of Barristan, Jamie and Ned are completely accurate and more in awe of the legend (and his sword, Dawn) than what the man was actually like.

However, characters like Robert and Ned we know are competent fighters as Robert killed Rhaegar and Ned took on three kingsguard (with the help of Howland Reed) and survived.

I don't see how you can leave Brienne off. She won Renly's melee (notably closing it out by beating Loras), easily handles a shackled and worn down Jaime, holds her own against a bear with a tourney sword, took on Timeon and Pyg two-on-one without much difficulty, and handles Rorge pretty easily too. She can go pound for pound with just about anyone physically and she's pretty well trained as well.

Jaime also deserves mention. We don't see Jaime do a whole lot during the books, but he did nearly cut his way clean through Robb's division of the Northern army to get to him, killing Daryn Hornwood and the Karstark boys. He was also 15 during the Kingswood Brotherhood events, where he distinguished himself pretty prominently. He may have also been the second most dominant Tourney Knight of his time (after Barristan). Just using the wiki, he won a melee (probably squires only) at 13, the tourney for Robert's wedding in 284, and essentially tied Jorah Mormont at the Lannisport tourney (Robert kind of randomly just picked Mormont after 9 tilts without decision in the finals). He also placed highly in a number of others. The only other person besides Barristan who held a candle to Jaime's tourney dominance was Rhaegar, and while Rhaegar died young, Jaime also missed a number of tourneys in his prime due to Aerys' paranoia (including the great Harrenhal tourney, which Rhaegar won). Plus, he's given credibility from virtually everyone, and not just in the honorific way that Arthur Dayne is, even people who don't particularly respect Jaime respect his fighting ability.

If you're taking all the people you mentioned at their respective peaks, I could see most of them possibly ahead of Brienne and Jaime, except Ned, who wasn't a notable swordsman, more of a good field General than warrior. The ToJ scene wasn't particularly good evidence. As noted, it was 7 on 3 and Ned's group were all competent fighters for the most part.

I'd definitely have either Jaime or Brienne ahead of Bronn though. All Bronn really did was defeat Ser Vardis in single combat, which is notable, but Jaime and Brienne's achievements both pretty clearly outclass that. And I think they belong in the discussion of the other nine you mention.